Time of My Life
by JumpingTrains
Summary: The students of DeGrassi have the time of their lives, but not exactly how they all planned. A story that follows Mo, Marisol, Owen, Katie, Fiona and Jake from senior year to the rest of their lives.


A cutesy, fluffy story that's mainly about Mo, Marisol, Katie, Fiona, Owen, and Jake, but may have parts about other characters too. Kinda like a series of oneshots that make a story in the end. Starts at Smash into You and follows them all post graduation. Almost everything before the episode '_Smash into You_' is canon.

**Ships:** Morisol, Krew, Jatie, Owanya, Drianca, Fimogen.

**Friendships:** Morisol/Jatie, Fiona/Marisol/Katie, Dallas/Owen, Power Squad/Ice Hounds.

**Oh, and btw, I don't own DeGrassi :)**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>.:TOML:.<strong>**

(**MARISOL/MO**)

Marisol walked into the hospital room with blue and yellow balloons tied to a stuffed bear, "All ready for surgery?"

Katie took the bear and clutched it to her chest, "Awww!" She sat it down in her lap before anxiously answering, "Well, it's booked for this morning, so fingers crossed."

Marisol looked at the bouquets of flowers and gifts sitting on the table next to Katie's bed, "Ohh, who's all your secret admirers?"

"Mostly Drew. He's been by my side through all of this. It's sweet."

"Wow, must be nice to have a boyfriend who loves you so much." Marisol hated being jealous of Katie while she was in the hospital, but she was in a romantic slump. The last two guys she liked rejected her and she was single now. She'd been especially jealous of Katie and Drew being together. Not because she still wanted Drew, but because Katie didn't even have to try to get him. Marisol jumped through hoops to get guys to notice her and Katie could do it effortlessly.

"Uh, Mare, you okay?" Katie asked concerned about her friends' unusual glum demeanor.

She faked a smile for Katies sake, "Yeah. I'm just saying DeGrassi is going to be lonely without you." It was true, Katie was her only real friend besides the girls on the power squad. Anytime she wasn't at school Marisol spent most of her day alone. "But, we got assigned our countries for model UN. USA baby! So when do you wanna start prepping for Saturday?"

"Yeah, um. The doctor wants me to stay here post-op until Monday. I can't come," Katie hated to disappoint her, but doctors orders were doctors orders and she couldn't just ignore them.

"Noooo! Who's gonna be the brains behind my charisma?" She and Katie had been a dream team since kindergarten. Katie did all the work, Marisol did all the presenting. Apart, they were a mess, but together they made each other better. Katie drove Marisol to study more and Marisol gave Katie the extra confidence she needed to speak publicly.

Hoping to lift Marisols spirits about being partner-less and not having a boyfriend, Katie came up with an idea, "Why don't you talk to Mr. Perrino, maybe he'll set you up with a cute single boy."

Marisol smiled, "Hmmmm. _Not_ opposed to that idea."

"That's what I thought," Katie nodded her head.

Marisol smelled the flowers one last time. "Well, maybe my new partner will bring me flowers someday," she said hopefully.

**.:TOML:.**

After class ended, Marisol walked to the front of the room, "Mr Perrino, Katie has to back out of Model UN and I was wondering if I could pick a replacement partner."

"I have a waiting list," he said pulling out his clipboard.

"You do?" she asked in disappointment.

"Yeah, let's see who's up first," he read down the names on the piece of paper.

"Actually, I was thinking Ben. He'd be perfect," Marisol suggested. Ben was just the latest guy on the football team who had caught Marisols eye.

"Strange, I don't see him on my list, but Mr. Mashkour is up first," he said pointing at Mo.

Marisol turned to see him sitting at his desk with an open bag of chips.

"Meet your new UN partner."

"_Marisol_?" Mo asked. Even he sounded upset about the new arrangement.

"Yep." Mr Perrino grabbed his briefcase and walked out the room, not wanting to hear any of their drama.

"You don't have to. _Really._" Marisol said, hoping he'd choose to dropout and give her the chance to be partnered with someone she could actually be interested in.

"And miss out on extra credit? You're stuck with me." He tossed a few chips in his mouth, "So, wanna throw around some ideas?"

Marisols face made a disgusted look, "Why don't we work separately? I'll message you later." She left the room to avoid having to spend anymore time with him than necessary.

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol sat down at the kitchen table, "Hey mom."

"Hey sweety." she gave Marisol a kiss on the cheek. Her mom could instantly see that something was bothering her. "Whats up? Is Katie doing okay?" she asked concerned. Marisol had been sulking around the house ever since Katie got hurt.

"She's fine. The surgery went great."

"Then what's wrong?" she sat down beside Marisol.

Marisol sighed, "I got assigned to work with some dorky loser for Model UN."

"Why not quit?" her mom suggested.

"I need the extra credit," Marisol lied. No amount of extra credit could save her grade.

"If you were _really_ concerned about your grades you'd be doing your homework right now," Mrs Lewis pointed out. She knew the one thing Marisol would never care about was schoolwork.

Marisol shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know why. If I quit it's like he wins" She hadn't questioned why she was so intent on completing Model UN. The only reason she signed up was because of Katie.

"So, you're gonna do something you _don't_ want to do with someone you claim to _hate_ instead of dropping out?" her mom asked.

Marisol nodded.

Mrs Lewis rolled her eyes, "That makes _perfect_ sense." She could tell that something was up with her daughter and she was pretty sure she knew what it was, though she wouldn't mention it until she was positive.

Marisol looked at her with puppy dog eyes and pouted lips, "Could you maybe help me come up with ideas?"

**.:TOML:.**

Mr Perrino addressed the room full of students, "Delegates, I trust you've had a chance to look over the issues posted for tomorrows Model UN. A famine has been declared in two areas in southern Somalia as the country suffers it's worst drought in over half a century. So I'd love to hear some of your proposal ideas. Why don't we begin with USA."

Mo spoke up, "Well, after looking into Somalian politics, democracy may not necessarily be what's best for them. Autocratic governments can have good qualities but can also repress some basic liberties. A strong hand government is sometimes needed but it usually causes more corruption than it does leadership. What are your thoughts?" he asked Marisol.

Marisol didn't completely understand what he'd said, so she decided to stick with her original idea, "Um, I was thinking a concert. You know, to raise money. Coldplay, Beyoncé. Airs on every channel." Marisol could hear Mo snickering behind her. Offended that he was laughing at the idea she'd spent hours thinking about with her mom, she turned around and glared at him, "What is so funny?"

"I'm talking _famine_, okay? You're talking _Beyoncé_. You can't just throw money at a problem," Mo rebutted.

Marisol wasn't exactly sure why he was being so rude to her, but if he wanted an argument, she would give him one, "Why not? They're pooooor."

"_You're_ the problem with the world. Judging from your high western horse. All like 'Hey problem what's up? I'll just throw some money at you'."

Marisol was about to reply with a snarky remark, but Mr. Perrino cut her off, "Marisol could you elaborate?"

Marisol explained, "I was thinking, it could be an international event. Broadcast on every channel with stars and a donations hotline. We can also raise money by selling songs from the concert on iTunes."

Mr Perrino was actually impressed that she worked on the project, "Mo, what do you got?" he asked.

Mo stammered through his sentence, "I-was gonna hammer out some ideas tonight when I get home.."

"Next time, please do not disrespect your partners idea when you have none of your own."

"Who's laughing now?" Marisol cockily said before turning around.

Mo didn't even understand why she angered him so much. He usually shrugged things like that off and forgot about them, but he couldn't forget about this. In a childish act of revenge, he took the gum out his mouth and pressed it into Marisols hair.

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol slammed the front door of her house before stomping into her room.

"..._And there goes the famous Marisol Lewis door slam_," her mom said sardonically from the kitchen. She followed her daughter up the stairs and into her bedroom. "What's it this time?" she asked looking at her.

"You know that jerk who I got stuck with. He put _gum_ in my hair!"

She giggled slightly, "That's it?" Marisol nodded. "I know how to fix this," she couldn't solve all of her daughter's problems, but this was one she could easily handle. She left the room to go into the kitchen. She came back in with a jar, "Here."

"Peanut butter?" Marisol shook her head, "There's no way you're putting that stuff in my hair."

"It's either that or cutting it out..."

"Okay. Go ahead," She plopped down in the chair facing the mirror. "Ugh! He's such a jackass!"

"Watch the language," Mrs Lewis said rubbing her hair with the peanut butter.

Marisol quickly apologized, "Yes ma'am."

"Are you sure he doesn't have a crush on you?" her mother pried while looking at her face in the mirror.

"That's crazy! We can barely stand each other. We've already gotten into so many fights."

"Are you sure _you_ don't have a crush on him?" she asked.

"No! Why would you even think that?"

She shrugged, "Sorry. You just seem _soooo_ interested in talking about him..."

"Because he annoys the shit out of me!" she explained

She let her get away with cursing in the house for once. She ran the comb through her hair and finally the gum fell out, "All out!"

"Thanks," Marisol said giving her mom a hug.

"Now you just have to deal with that little crush you have," she teased kissing her cheek.

Marisol rolled her eyes at her mother in annoyance and followed her downstairs.

**.:TOML:.**

Her brother came jogging into the kitchen after them. "So who's the guy my little sister has a crush on now?"

Marisol glared at him, "You were listening to us?!"

"Some new guy," her mom answered for her.

"He's not another punk I'm gonna have to punch out, is he?" he asked taking the dishes out of the cabinet. He passed them to Marisol before turning around to grab the drinking glasses.

"I still can't believe you hit KC!" Marisol said with a small smile as she placed each plate on the table. Even though it was wrong, it did make her feel a little bit better about the entire situation.

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm your big bro that's my job." He looked at her seriously, "Make sure you tell your new crush that if he makes you cry, I make him cry."

"Stop it! There's no new crush!" Marisol yelled. Marisol loved his protective nature when it came to her, but she couldn't stand the constant teasing she got from him.

Marisols' dad walked in and gave her a kiss on the head, his son a guy a handshake and his wife a brief kiss on the lips. He sat down and joined their conversation, "Another crush, I'm gonna take a wild guess and say he's on the football team."

"Yeah, his name is Mo and he's a blocker," she quickly realized what she'd said and changed her sentence while she sat at the table. "What I _mean_ is, there's no new crush, _but_ the guy they're talking about is on the football team."

"Wait? Mo _Mashkour_?" her brother asked shocked. He sat down across from Marisol to take in the information. That was something he never saw coming. When he went to DeGrassi Marisol and Mo rarely crossed paths and never talked.

"Yeah," she said remembering that they both had been on the DeGrassi team at one point. But back then she mostly paid attention to her brother on the field, even more than she did the hot guys on the other team.

"If you don't like him why does the teasing bother you so much?" Mrs Lewis asked as she continued to stir the pot in front of her. Though she hated that Marisol went from boyfriend to boyfriend, Mrs Lewis loved how Marisol acted when she had a crush. She seemed brighter, like her head was in the clouds, and that was much better than the emotionless blob she was when single.

"It's because he's..._him,_" Marisol said disgusted.

"You mean because he's not the stereotypical jock and you're shallow as hell," her brother mumbled under his breath.

Marisols dad held back a laugh at the comment his son made. It was rude, but it was also true. He loved his daughter, but he knew _exactly_ how judgmental she could be.

Marisol kicked him under the table for his remark, "Shut it."

"Sorry. You know we're just kidding, Mari." her brother apologized while rubbing his leg.

"Okay, but can we please, please, _please_ stop discussing my new crush over dinner!?" she begged.

"I thought you said you _didn't_ have a crush." her dad said with a smirk.

Marisol griped, "God, you're all insane!"

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol walked into Katie's hospital room, "Since you can't make model UN today, I thought you could represent from here." She handed Katie a mini US flag that she'd gotten for her. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, acl is repaired. Just recovery's hard and painful." Katie smelled a strange odor coming from Marisol. "Come closer." Marisol bent her head down and Katie smelled her again, "...Um why do you smell like _peanut butter_?"

"Ugh. It still smells. I spent the night trying to get gum out of my hair and I'm pretty sure Mo is responsible."

Drew started laughing from Katie's bedside.

"Laugh away, _I'm_ the one who has to spend the entire day with him."

"Classic move. It means he likes you," Drew explained.

"You're so dumb, we _obviously _hate each other!" Everyone seemed to be ganging up on her for the last few days and Marisol was getting sick of it.

"I don't know Mare, Drew's got a point. In grade 8 John Frank Armotto put gum in my hair and then tried to kiss me on the lips," Katie reminded her.

"You and Mo, are gonna kiss on the lips." Drew joked.

"The fact that you would even say that is so clueless."

"I don't know what your problem is. He's funny, he smells good, and he's a great blocker," Drew pointed out.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ he's a good blocker." Marisol said rudely.

Katie lightly hit her friend with the little flag she held in her hand for her insensitive remark.

"Oh, I see...you don't wanna date Mo because he's _bigger_?" Drew asked.

"Ding-ding-ding..."

"Very nice Marisol," Drew said judgmentally.

"And he's a jerk!" Marisol continued. "Can you stop? This is just grossing me out."

"You need to get over yourself and get into the _Mo_-mance."

"I'm puking!" Marisol rolled her eyes. Even though she didn't act like it, the thought of someone having a crush on her was _kinda_ cute. She was used to being the one going after guys and it was nice to think that the tables had finally turned. "Can we just go now?" Marisol asked annoyed with the entire situation.

**.:TOML:.**

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Marisol griped. She'd let Alli talk her into placing supplies on the tables for Model UN and was now carrying boxes filled with notebooks.

"This is so stupid. Why'd you sign us up for this?" Mo asked walking beside her.

"Because Alli asked me to and it looked like she needed help. We're gonna be here anyways," Marisol shrugged her shoulders, "Might as well help her."

"Better question, why'd you sign us _both_ up?" he asked irritated that she'd volunteered without asking him.

Marisol tried to keep herself from getting upset, "If you wanna leave, _go_."

Mo dropped the box on the ground, "Fine!" he yelled while walking away.

"Fine!" Marisol yelled back at him.

Marisol struggled to pick up the other box, dropping it a few times. She might have been in the Rock-climbing Club and on Powersquad but she was still small framed and couldn't lift that much weight. Picking them up obviously wasn't working so she decided to try pushing them. Finally she made it to the gym area to see Alli standing there with her clipboard. "Marisol! You said you'd have it done before we did the icebreakers!"

"Chill out Bhandari! These boxes are heavy and I'm doing this alone!" Marisol took a deep breath, "I'll have it finished."

"You better!" Alli said before walking away from her.

Marisol didn't know how she would be able to move all the boxes to gym and put the supplies on the table in time. She sat down in a chair and laid her head on the desk. From helping with Model UN, Power Squad practices, and spending every moment possible with Katie, Marisol was exhausted. Not to mention having to deal with teasing from almost everyone about Mo.

**.:TOML:.**

Mo could hear Marisol being yelled at from the hallway. He felt horrible for leaving her by herself. He walked in carrying some of the boxes. He laid them down on one of the tables. "Other half of Team USA reporting for duty," he said doing a fake army salute.

Marisol looked up and smiled at him, both happy and shocked that he'd come back to help her.

"So, how does this work?" he asked while opening a box.

"Alli said she wants one notebook, one highlighter, and two pencils on each table," she explained.

"Well, let's do it," he said handing her a stack of notebooks.

For a moment, Mo stopped working to look at Marisol. Everything about her screamed attitude; the way she moved her hips while she walked, the judgmental look she wore, the slightly devilish look in her eyes. She always looked like a walking time bomb, ready and more than willing to obliterate anyone who crossed her path. He _had_ to admit he liked that about her though. Marisol wasn't easy to get along with like other girls. She was complicated. He even liked pissing her off just to see how she'd react.

Marisol noticed his staring from the corner of her eye, "Um...is something wrong?"

He nervously looked away, "No. _Nothing_."

"Okay," Marisol said awkwardly.

Mo looked around at all the tables, "I think we're done," he said beginning to walk away.

Marisol grabbed his arm to stop him, "Hey. Thanks for doing this."

He shrugged,"Yeah. whatever"

"No, _really_." She gave him a genuine smile, "You didn't have to help me."

He smiled back at her, "I'm happy to help."

When the gym began filling up with students Marisol moved away from Mo so they wouldn't be seen.

**.:TOML:.**

In the crowd of people Marisol saw a Bardell cheerleader she knew, Tara. She was her closest friend other than Katie. They had a love/hate relationship. Competition tended to bring out the worst in both. She walked up and gave her a hug, "I had no idea you were gonna be here!"

"Yep. I'm representing India!" Tara said waving her mini flag. She pointed at Mo, "You got a new boyfriend and you didn't tell me!?"

"He is _not_ my boyfriend!" Marisol groaned.

"Well, does _he_ know that? Cuz you guys were looking pretty close..." she teased.

"Does he look like anyone I would _ever_ think about dating?"

"Come on! He's cute and he's on the football team."

Marisol gave her an unimpressed look, "_He's a blocker_._ Skill __positions only for Marisol Lewis._"

Tara raised her eyebrows, "So you're _not_ denying that he's cute then?"

"Shut up," Marisol said playfully pushing her away.

Alli stood on a chair for the students to be able to see her, "Okay, now everyone grab hands with someone else."

Mo crossed the entire gym, and a sea full of people, to talk to Marisol, "Wanna hold hands?"

Marisol grimaced slightly, "Okay." She reluctantly put her hand in his. It felt like everyone looking at them and wondering if they were a couple.

Alli gave instructions on how the game worked and the students attempted to do it. All the twisting and turning ended with Marisol's and Mo's faces being only inches apart. They forgot about the game and stayed like that for a moment. Just looking at each other. Marisol could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest; _too_ hard. It felt as though it could burst at any second without warning. But she loved it. Her senses were heightened. She could hear his breathing over the chattering of the other students. She could smell his Axe body spray over the smell of her perfume or even the peanut butter in her hair. Her hand quivered in his as the sensations flowed through her body.

"_That looks awkward_," Alli mumbled while passing them.

Alli's comment brought Marisols mind out of the fog. She looked away from Mo as she felt her cheeks get so warm she was sure that she was blushing.

When the circle was finally complete, Alli cheered, "All done!"

Marisol quickly dropped Mo's hand. He looked at her disappointingly, wondering what he'd done wrong.

"Nice icebreakers you guys!" Alli complemented while clapping. "We'll break for an hour and then we'll call Model UN to order."

Marisol walked away from Mo totally embarrassed. Marisol was acting the complete opposite as before and Mo couldn't understand why. He knew girls could be confusing, but Marisol was like a puzzle with pieces that didn't fit to him. For a ditzy cheerleader she was pretty complex. The only thing he could think of to explain her sudden change in behavior was that she'd somehow found out about him putting the gum into her hair. Apologizing to her would probably be the only way to get into her good graces again.

**.:TOML:.**

When he saw Marisol in the gym standing near Drew, Mo walked up to her, "I have something to confess. I put gum in your hair yesterday."

Marisol sighed, "I know, just forget about it. Let's get through today and bank our extra credit." _And then I'll never have to see again_, she thought to herself.

"I worked on some stuff last night. Meet me in the resource center to go over it?" Mo asked.

More alone time with him, exactly what she _didn't_ want. But she agreed, "Yeah, I'll see you there."

"Go USA!" Mo exclaimed walking away.

Awkwardly, Marisol cheered with him, "Go USA!"

Marisol groaned, "It's worse than I thought, he's practically _in love_ with me. He wanted to hold my hand earlier!"

"Marisol, that was apart of the game," Drew said holding in a laugh at her delusion.

"That doesn't matter, there were many other hands he could have held. This girl from Bardell asked if Mo was my boyfriend. _Boy. Friend_."

"I guess you and Mo just have natural chemistry," he meant to say it as a joke but when the words came out he realized it was kinda true in a weird way.

"No, we do not. This is humiliating. People need to stop thinking we're together. How do I kill this crush?" She was more referring to the crush _she_ had.

"Just be yourself," Drew suggested.

"I have to be honest, tell him it's never going to happen."

Drew walked away giving her a pat on the back, "Good luck with that."

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol headed towards the resource center, intent on confronting Mo about his crush. Marisol walked into the room and spoke to Mo, "If we have to work together all day, it's best we clear the air." She stopped talking when she heard music start to play, "What is this?"

"I was thinking about your benefit concert."

"You mean the one you make fun of?" Marisol snidely asked.

"I was wrong, okay? It was smart and populist, but I took it a step farther."

"..._And wrote a song_?"

"To save the world." Mo started singing along to the music, "is it truly our nature to turn the other cheek. Is it truly our nature to just admit defeat?"

"Poppy girl line here. Baritone guy part here. And bridge...into the chorus."

Marisol looked down at the lyrics and joined him in singing, "The world as one can make a change. The world as one can rise above. The world as one can truly change with love, love, love."

"Rap breakdown."

Frazzled, Marisol started spitting out lines that seemed to make at least a little sense, "Save the world one person at a time- I don't know how I'm gonna make this rhyme. Mare the mc will make things better. Don't make poor people knit your sweater." She giggled uncontrollably when she finished. It was fun to be silly around someone other than Katie for a change. "I think we have a hit."

"Yep. I think the rap part needs a little bit of work." He turned to look at her, "So what'd you wanna tell me earlier? Are we cool?"

She was relieved that the tension between them was gone, and flattered that he took her idea seriously instead of making fun of it. She didn't feel the need to bring up the 'crush' topic anymore. It didn't seem to bother her as much as before. She smiled at him, "We're cool."

"Let's kick some UN butt."

Marisol gave him a cheesy high five.

Mo looked at the clock. He unexpectedly asked her, "We still have about 45 minutes. Wanna go to The Dot before Model UN starts? We can get one of those frappe mocha latte things you girls like. My treat."

Marisol held back a smile nodded her head, "Sure."

**.:TOML:.**

As they exited the doors of the DeGrassi, Mo asked, "You ready for this afternoon?"

"_More_ than ready. I just wanna get this over with."

"Why'd you need a new partner? You and Katie didn't make up?" Mo asked referring to the fight she and Katie had over Drew.

"No, we did. She tore her acl at nationals tryouts and is in the hospital having surgery."

"So you two forgave each other? Just like that?" he asked snapping his finger.

A small smile came to her face as she thought about Katie, "Yep. We're best friends. No matter what." She sighed, "I can't wait for her to get out the hospital. Then things can finally get back to normal."

"That wasn't cool by the way." Marisol scrunched up her face in confusion. "Starting the rumor about Katie," he explained.

Marisol looked down ashamed, "Yeah, I know." She kicked a rock on the ground as they got closer to the restaurant, "I just wanted to win for _once _without her. And I couldn't, not even by cheating."

"Looks like this is your chance."

She looked at him puzzled.

"Model UN. Katie's not here. Maybe you can win," he said opening the door for her.

"I guess you're right. Maybe _I_ can," she said walking through the door.

When the bell on the door rung the guy behind the counter looked up. He saw Marisol and instantly smiled at her flirtatiously. She noticed his apparent interest and she was sorta into in him as well. He was old enough to be a college student and looked like the guys she was typically into; tall, athletic, and extremely handsome.

Marisol ordered her favorite drink and looked at Mo to silently ask if he was also going to order something. He shook his head 'no'. The idea of eating anything seemed unappealing now.

While she waited on her drink to be fixed she made small talk with the cashier. He was being friendly, too friendly. But it didn't count as _true_ flirting to Marisol unless she got the drink for free. Mo uncomfortably stood there as he watched the two quietly flirt. For some reason it pissed him off seeing them; more than it angered him to see her flirting with the opposite team at football games or watching her walk down the halls with her weekly boyfriends.

"It's on the house," he said handing her the drink and a napkin.

Mo took out his wallet, "I got it." He placed money on the counter to pay for her drink.

Marisol looked at him confused about what just happened, wondering why he would pay for something she was already getting free, "Um...Thank you_?_"

Mo pulled out Marisols chair for her to sit. They sat down at a table and talked as Marisol sipped her drink. Every now and again, Mo could see Marisol give coquettish looks to the cashier and he could only take so much of it before it drove him crazy with jealousy. Mo grabbed one of the sugar packets that sat in a container on the table and chucked it at Marisol.

She turned and looked at him with a shocked face, "Did you just?"

"What? _This_?" He threw another one at her.

"Yes _that_," now she picked up a packet and tossed it at him laughing.

They continued throwing them at each other until the manager glared at both of them. They couldn't help but laugh at the scowl on her face. "You're so childish! You put gum in my hair and now you have me throwing things in a restaurant."

"Maybe you should be _more_ childish."

Marisol scrunched up her face.

"You walk around school looking so high-maintenance," he said honestly.

"No I don't!"

"You dress like you came out a magazine. You have a freaking Convertible!" Mo pointed out.

"First off, I like fashion, there's nothing wrong with that," she defended. Marisol took another sip of her latte, "And my parents didn't just _give_ me a car. I had to pay for part of it, which I did by working at Little Miss Steaks."

She looked down at the table, "..._And_ that includes cleaning up after your idiot football friends on game nights and having to hear them catcall me all night long.."

"I had no idea that _actually_ bothered you," he said feeling awful that he allowed his friends act like that for so long without saying anything. He held one of her hands and looked into her eyes, "I _never_ would have any of them talk to you like that if I knew." Even if he didn't like her, he wouldn't let a guy catcall her unless she wanted it. She seemed so flattered with the attention that he didn't even take the time to think about her feelings.

"It's whatever, right?" She shrugged her shoulders, "It's not like I can really do anything to stop them, so I might as well act like I enjoy it." The only other person who she'd talked about that kinda stuff with was Katie. Maybe that was why it hurt her so much when she called her a shameless homewrecker. Katie was the one person she thought would never call her a slut. Marisol continued to talk, "But the _really_ sucky part is that I've been with most of them, and will probably date the others by the time we graduate..."

Then she remembered that they were, in The Dot on a Saturday afternoon where anyone could walk in and see them. As quickly as her walls fell down they went back up, and she returned to her usual bitchy self. Marisol rudely pulled her hand out of Mo's. She laughed and threw another packet at him, "Well, except for you and Conner and that other guy whose name I can't remember, _of course_. That would be a joke!"

Mo wasn't exactly sure if he should have taken that as an insult or not, but he did take it as a sign that there was _no_ possibility of anything ever happening between him and Marisol. It hurt to know he had no chance with her, but he was grateful he knew before he let himself get carried away with a silly crush.

The rest of the time they spent there Mo had her full attention, even when he talked about wrestling or the band he wanted to start. The guy there had left her mind. It wasn't until the alarm on her phone went off that they realized that it was almost time for Model UN to start.

"I'm actually kinda nervous," Marisol admitted as they walked back towards the school.

"Don't worry. You've got this."

"_I've_ got this?" She asked cutely. "Last time I checked this was a group project."

"Okay, then _we've_ got this," he corrected. "It's you and me, right?" Mo asked.

She looked into his eyes and smiled, "Right." Mo put his arm around her shoulder and to both their surprise, she didn't push him away. She couldn't believe it, but she was starting to fall for him, or maybe she was just now realizing that she had already fell.

**.:TOML:.**

When they came into view of the school, Marisol moved out of Mo's grasp not wanting anyone to see them together, "I'll see you inside?" she asked to which Mo nodded. She sat down on the front steps of DeGrassi and pulled out her phone to text Katie with all the details of her developing feelings. Marisol looked up when she heard two guys standing next to her talking.

"There's this one girl who goes here that will fuck anyone." He laughed. "That's her right there," he said loud enough for Marisol, and everyone else, to hear.

Yeah, she did have sex with one of them before at a party, but she wasn't in the mood to be bothered. And she was trying to loose her bad reputation, "Leave me alone, jerks," Marisol told them.

One of them put their hand on her leg which she quickly swatted away before standing up, "I said stop it!" she yelled.

When he heard Marisols voice, Mo looked over to their direction to see that they were hitting on her. It pissed him off for two reasons, most importantly because they were disrespecting her _and_ because she was his..._whatever she was to him_. Angered, he confronted them. "Leave her the hell alone," he said pushing one of them.

"Why the fuck do you care?"

"That doesn't matter. She said to leave her alone." He showed a part of him that'd Marisol had only seen on the football field. His usual bubbly exterior had faded to show his aggressive side. The only other woman he was this protective of was his mother.

He stood there until the other guys finally backed down and walked away.

"You okay? Did they hurt you?" Mo sweetly asked her.

"No, I'm fine. Thanks," Marisol said smiling. Mo sticking up for her was one of the nicest things a guy ever did for her.

"I'll see you later. Come and get me if they bother you again," he said walking away from her.

Marisol stood there watching Mo with a smile until the cheerleader from earlier came up to her, "I thought you said he _wasn't_ your boyfriend?"

The smile on her face faded a little, "He isn't my boyfriend."

"But you _want_ him to be." she stated more than asked.

"No," Marisol lied poorly. Denying her feelings was becoming harder by the minute.

"Oh? Then, I guess I'll go introduce myself," Tara said heading Mo's direction.

Marisol didn't let her get too far before grabbing her collar to pull her back, "Hold up a minute." Marisol knew the look on her face all too well, she'd had it many times before, like the first time she talked to KC around Jenna. A look that said, '_I'm going after this guy and there's nothing you can do about it_'. But Marisol wasn't Jenna Middleton, and there was no way she was gonna let that happen in front of her.

When she turned around Tara could see Marisol with her arms crossed and a glare on her face. The same serious, intimidating stance she had at cheering competitions. She shook Marisols arm in excitement, "See! You're getting territorial! You're totally into him!"

Marisol bit her lip and finally admitted it aloud, "...yeah. I guess I kinda am into him."

"So go for it, girl!" Tara said pushing her towards him.

"Right now? Where _everyone_ can see us?" Marisol asked worriedly.

"Why not?"

"What is everyone going to think? He's not exactly the type of guy I'm supposed to go after..." she said watching Mo doing some silly guy handshake with another boy.

"You're gonna let what other people might think stop you from going out with someone you _obviously_ like?" Tara asked shocked. "I guess you really are the superficial bitch everyone says you are..." she walked away disappointed in her friend.

There was no snappy comeback she could say and no way to excuse her shallowness. It would be stupid to let the opinion of others control her life, so she wouldn't let them. And if she didn't make a move before Model UN ended, there was a possibly that their relationship would return to the nothingness it was before, and that was something she couldn't risk. She had her mind-set on telling him the truth. She would just walk up to him and tell him that he wasn't alone in his crush.

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol found Mo and pulled him to the side, "We need to talk."

"Whats up?" he asked.

She looked at the ceiling and spoke in a shaky voice, "Mo. I have a cru-"

Suddenly Alli stood and asked all the delegates to take their seat. The students started moving to their areas. "I guess it'll have to wait until later," Mo said pulling out Marisols chair.

When Alli called for someone to make the first motion, Mo looked at Marisol and waited for her to speak up. She nervously sat there unwilling to speak first. When she didn't move he stood, "The famine in Somalia is something many are unaware of."

Marisol worked up the courage to stand too, "We propose a star-studded concert coupled with a single release on iTunes. This will help raise awareness for the cause as well as funds for tangible intervention."

As soon as Marisol finished Jenna raised her hand. "Okay, China?" Alli asked.

Jenna confidently spoke, "This motion doesn't cross all borders and cultures. I assume this song is in English, so how are people in non-English countries supposed to be compelled to participate."

"It doesn't matter what language it's in. Music isn't about borders, or race, or color. It's about love. If only we judged less and loved a little more, the world'd be a better place," it started off as a rebuttal for Jenna's comment but somehow turned into a line that sounded straight from a corny film halfway through.

Proud with her mini monologue, Marisol sat back down. She tapped Mo on the shoulder and whispered to him, "Do you think our motion has a chance of being voted in?"

"I don't know your plea for love, while passionate, may not cut it. What was all that about?"

Her eyes glinted as she spoke, "You inspired me with your song."

"I _did_?"

"I admit it, at first I thought I was out of your league or whatever, but I learned not to judge based on appearance."

"What are you tryna say here?" Mo asked confused.

"I like you too. I mean, at first I was embarrassed that you had a crush on me, but now I think it's kinda a good thing."

Mo couldn't take her seriously. He thought it was a cruel joke, like the fake date prank Conner pulled on him. He did have a crush on Marisol at one point, but he ignored and denied it for so long that it seemed like it had disappeared. It was impossible for her to ever like him. This _obviously_ had to be trick and he wasn't going to fall for it this time. "I don't have a crush on you," he plainly stated.

"It's okay! You can admit it! It's not a big deal. It's actually really cute," she said with a smile.

"I was being _nice_ and _polite_. Don't get me wrong. I'm flattered-"

Pissed at his response, Marisol abruptly stood, "Screw you!" She stomped towards the exit. It didn't even bother her that the entire gym was staring at her.

"USA? We're voting soon," Alli called after her.

"I abstain!" Marisol yelled back.

Mo instantly felt horrible when she left hurt. Insulting her was the last thing he wanted to do. His first thought was to follow her out, but before he could, Alli started the voting process.

**.:TOML:.**

Marisol didn't understand how she could have been so wrong about him. When they were at The Dot together they were so in sync. He seemed into her. In her mind it _had_ to be more than just manners. But it wasn't, not to Mo at least.

She couldn't sit alone in an empty room sulking. Not knowing what else to, Marisol called Katie, "Hey girl."

"Why aren't you delegating?" Katie questioned.

"You're recovering from surgery. You don't need to hear about my problems."

"Please, anything to get my mind off of my knee." Katie didn't want to pry, or maybe she did, but she needed to know all the details of Marisol/Mo saga, "So, did Mo confess his crush for you?"

"No, that was all a huge misunderstanding," she swallowed hard, refusing to let it sound like she was upset, "Thank god."

Even over the phone, Katie could tell something was wrong with her best friend, "Marisol Lewis, am I sensing mild _disappointment_?"

Marisol looked up to see Mo standing in the doorway. "Can I call you back?" Marisol asked Katie. She pressed the end button on her phone and sat it down on the table.

"You missed the award ceremony, we won the peace prize," Mo said showing her the trophy.

Marisol stood and looked away from him. She blinked rapidly to keep any tears of rejection from falling. "Is that it?" she rudely asked.

"I also wanted to tell you that I never had a crush on you-"

Marisol didn't understand why he'd want to put her through the pain of being rejected again. She turned to look at him, "Okay! You've already told me!"

"Will you let a brother talk?"

It didn't seem like there was much else to say about the situation. Marisol crossed her arms, and readied herself to hear whatever he had to say to her. There was no way she'd break down in front of him.

"I didn't get a crush on you 'cause I never thought I had a chance." He was _still_ getting used to the idea that her feelings for him were real. "You're a popular, hot girl who drives a convertible. I always thought you were out of my league."

Marisol smiled, flattered that he didn't have a crush because he thought she was too good, not because he didn't like her. "You're not, _leagues are stupid,_" Marisol couldn't believe she was saying that leagues were stupid. They were basically all she lived for, well not anymore. She could finally see there were things other than looks and being popular.

"Then it is with great pleasure that I present the Peace Prize to Marisol Lewis _and_ the Grammy for outstanding Female Rap Performance."

She happily took the award from him. "Thank you, thank you," she playfully bowed.

Instinctively they both came in closer. Their breath ghosted on to the others face while they stared into each other's eyes. Mo had no idea just how beautiful brown eyes could be. They'd always seemed so commonplace and bland. But not Marisols. Hers were mesmerizing. They reflected light in a million different directions and created tones and shades of brown he didn't know existed. Marisol moved her hand to the back of Mo's neck and pulled his lips to hers

Finally they pulled apart. "_Wow_," Mo said at a loss of words.

"Wow," Marisol repeated.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and left. She didn't want to talk about their relationship or anything else really. There would be of time for that. She wanted the moment to stay like it was. One of those _times of her life_ that the entire world seemed to fade away into nothingness.

**.:TOML:.**

"We won the peace prize," Marisol said proudly while holding the trophy up.

"I'm so proud of you Mare!" Katie gave her a warm hug, "See, you don't need my 'brains'."

Marisol held up the plastic bag she had in her other hand, "And I brought strawberry ice cream!" She placed the trophy down on the beside-table and reached into the bag to take out the pint of ice cream and two spoons.

Marisol popped off the top of the container and threw it into the trash and then handed it to Katie. She kicked off her shoes and laid next to Katie on the hospital bed. Marisol grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until she saw 'Dirty Dancing' playing. "This movie is so cute." Marisol gushed while watching the dance scene on-screen.

"You've seen this a million times," Katie said rolling her eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"It's this song. 'I've had the time of my life.' I don't think there could ever be a more romantic song." A small grin came to Marisols face as she remembered the afternoon. She took one more bite of ice cream before tossing her spoon into in the trash. "Did I tell you about Mo?" She asked Katie knowing that she hadn't mentioned him yet.

Suddenly Katie's interest was peaked, "What happened?"

"We _might_ have kissed."

Katie dropped her spoon into her lap as words started flying from her mouth, "Why didn't you tell me that first!? I knew he liked you! Was it good? How long did it last?"

"Slow it down, Matlin! It was just a kiss, short but good. _Really_ good." She looked at her seriously, "I like him, Katie. And I think he likes me."

Katie gave her a hug, "I'm happy for you, Mare."

She smiled wide enough for her dimples to show, "I know. I'm happy for me too."


End file.
